Battery

by Clearwater Personal Injury Lawyers Tragos & Sartes

In both criminal and civil law, battery is the intentional and unprivileged touching of or application of force to the body or item intimately connected to another person in a harmful manner.

In common law, battery is the tort of intentionally and voluntarily bringing about a harmful or offensive contact with another person or to something closely associated with that person without consent. It, like assault, is a form of trespass to the person and is an intentional tort, as opposed to a tort of negligence.

Unlike assault, battery requires that there is some actual contact. The contact can be directly between two people or the contact can be between the offender and an object that belongs to the victim. For example, Person A intentionally hits Person B with his bike. This is a battery. Battery is actionable per se, which means that a claim for the tort may succeed without proof of damage.

Battery as a tort is distinguished from battery as a crime by the degree and quality of the intent involved. If the offender has the intent to cause contact with the victim, then it is sufficient for battery as a tort. Criminal battery requires the intent to cause an injury to the victim.

Battery’s contact must be “harmful” or “offensive.” The offensiveness standard is measured against those of a “reasonable person.” For example, a hypersensitive person jostled on a crowded subway would fail in a batter action because reasonable people would expect some degree of jostling on a crowded subway. Harmful is defined by damage to the victim’s body.

Contact a Clearwater Personal Injury Lawyer

If you have been the victim of battery in the Tampa Bay area, contact the Clearwater personal injury lawyers of the Law Offices of Tragos & Sartes at 727-441-9030 to discuss your case and to determine your legal options.